Born in South Shields, County Durham, he attended the Royal Scotch Arms pub, and noticed its transformation under his later competitors Moss and Thornton into the Empire Music Hall in 1890.
[1] This was his first encounter with fellow impresarios Edward Moss and Sir Oswald Stoll, whose chain had just opened the Leed Empire theatre, whose features and scale had, less than two months later, brought about the failure of the lessor and resultant sale of the Tivoli to Barrasford.
direct from the London Hippodrome, it never paid its way thanks to the pulling power of the scale, extravagance and "twice-nightly" format of the Barrasford Hall.
[1] Barrasford followed this success with the 1903 opening of the brand new Newcastle Pavilion in Westgate Road, with a bill topped by Tyneside contralto Madame Belle Cole.
Barrasford in competition to Moss-Stoll added two further existing theatres to his tour in Liverpool: the Lyric Theatre in Everton Valley (opened Easter Monday, 1903); and the St Helens Hippodrome (previously the St Helens Empire), which opened with Fred Karno's comedy company in a production of Jail Birds.
[1] But much of Barrasford's financial success had been based on alcohol sales, and London County Council refused a license on principle for the Lyceum.
Although the Lyceum attracted royal patronage before the Empire, with the first production of the ballet Excelsior seen by the Prince and Princess of Wales, afterwards King George V and Queen Mary.
Barrasford, in trying to outpace Stoll and Moss by trialling acts in Europe, had opened Alhambra-themed halls in Brussels and Paris.
The Hull Alhambra was refurbished as the New Hippodrome, but on completion of works the lease was handed to its manager Alfred Graham.
"[1] On an occasion of being assured that his horse would win at Pontefract Racecourse, he placed a five-shilling bet on behalf of every member of his staff at the Leed's Tivoli.
[1] By now, Barrasford was suffering from persistent ill health from Bright's Disease, and impresarios in USA and Britain expressed interest in taking over his entire tour.